Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Where to next?

The first edition is out, and is percolating through the Internet as we speak. God speed, little journal!

While a great deal of the editorial focus is now on the next version, let's do a little bit of navel-gazing on what we have achieved so far.

* Journal registration. We now have our very own ISSN number. There are many like it, but this one is ours. It is a small badge of respectability which will allow us to start to build a good reputation, and step up to fill some of the information gaps in the Python community.

* Academic articles. We've published one, and another has been submitted. While the most popular (read elite) journals may always have their 'pick' of articles, we have two things going for us: (1) We promote freedom of information -- this means something to some people; (2) We are more focused, and as such may become a better source for Python than other generalist journals.

* Industry articles. We've published one, and have more on the way. In the case of the Python Papers, these articles are not merely extended advertisements as in the case of many more glossy productions, but in-the-trenches works covering real problems and solutions.

* Diversity. While in a sense we are very Australian at this stage, the editorial board are not just 'a bunch of mates', although we are becoming fast friends as we all work together. We represent a diversity of backgrounds and opinions, something which I feel brings vitality and energy.

* A move away from the 'heroic' model of article production. Expert blogs are a wonderful source of information, but this puts enormous load on individuals to keep producing great articles, and is also isolationist. By moving away from any particular individual, the Python Papers can bring in any voice without being tribal.